Self-Compassion: Tips for Loving Yourself Just as You Are

Do you love yourself just as you are? The way that people answer this question reveals a great deal about their upbringing. Well-loved children absorb from their parents a sense of self-worth that lasts a lifetime. But receiving mixed messages as a child is more common. These messages include the following:

• I love you as long as you love me.
• I love you as long as you are being good.
• I love you as much as you deserve.
• I love you, but don’t ask for too much or you’ll be spoiled.

You may remember such mixed messages from your childhood or not, but they all place conditions on how much parents love their children. Conditioned love is the norm, quite likely, even though unconditional love is the ideal. Can you change your inner image of how much you are loved and lovable? I believe so.